


Team Iron Lily

by bonniebon



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Explicit Language, F/M, Other Minor Pairings Included, Sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2016-02-01
Packaged: 2018-05-03 07:35:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,737
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5282267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bonniebon/pseuds/bonniebon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levy has acknowledged her growing feelings for Gajeel, while Gajeel knows that he loves Levy. Both want to tell each other how they feel. They are given the perfect opportunity: Shadow Gear splits up, and Levy permanently teams up with Gajeel and Pantherlily.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Broken Team

It was a quiet morning in the Fairy Tail guild. Mostly since Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Wendy and their cats were gone on an S-Class quest. There were a few wizards scattered around the guild. Mira, Makarov, Macao and Wakaba were at the bar enjoying each other’s company. Jet and Droy were off to themselves. Lisanna and Elfman were entertaining each other. And in a secluded corner, Gajeel found himself in a quietly heated conversation with his old friend, Juvia.

“Juvia thinks you should tell her how you feel,” the water mage says sternly.

“Aw, c’mon. Enough of that crap,” the Iron Dragonslayer said crossing his arms. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t think about confessing his feelings for her. “I’m just not a good enough for her.”

“You don’t really know that, Gajeel! Juvia thinks you are!” Juvia said. She was starting to get on his nerves.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said and he got up and left. _There’s no way in hell_ , he thought to himself, _No way in hell she’d like me. I mean, right? I mean, do I even like her?_ He scratched his head vigorously as if it would help his jumbled up feelings and confusing thoughts. He kept guessing and second guessing until it made him blush. _Hell, what am I thinking, I love her._

The two kind of had an odd history together. The first time he met her, he beat her up pretty badly and still to this day, he regretted it. He’s tried to redeem himself several times and in the process began to develop deep feelings for her. She was the first member of Fairy Tail he felt actually saw him and despite their first encounter, she still befriended him and even stood up for once. Not only that, they had the chance to fight together, and she risked herself to help him defeat that demon when they were fighting Tartaros. However, he couldn’t think of any of her actions that hinted at romantic feelings towards him.

 _If anything she would just see me as a friend right?_ He thought back to all their time together, but he was drawing up blanks. He couldn’t tell how she felt about him and it drove him insane. _Maybe I should tell her how I feel._ Gajeel decided that it would be better to tell Levy how he felt about her rather than go on any longer not knowing and possibly missing the chance to maybe start something. He of course felt like he didn’t feel like he deserved her, but he felt that she deserved to know that he thought of her more than a friend.

Gajeel found himself outside of the guild. He was a bit shocked that he was that lost in his thoughts, but since it was quiet, he decided to go back home and rest a bit.

 

* * *

 

 

“I like him,” Levy said quietly casting her eyes downward.

“Damn it, Levy!” Jet yelled at her, “After all that Phantom Lord shit and you like him?”

“That was so long ago, Jet!” Levy yelled back, “We’re guild mates now. That doesn’t matter to me.”

“I don’t give a shit! I still don’t trust that bastard!” the mage yelled back, “All the time we have played together, went on jobs together, all that wasted time with you…” Levy’s eyes opened wide in shock. “All that time I, we, have wasted on you, loving you, being there for you and you have the nerve to come tell me you like him? Why did we even form a team with you! Damn you, Levy! Damn you!”

“Jet!” Droy cried as he tried to calm his friend, “That’s out of line!”

“Fuck that, Droy!” Jet said pushing his friend out of the way. Droy, angered with his friend’s cruelty towards Levy, countered and they began to fight as Levy bawled her eyes out.

“Stop it!” she screamed, “Stop fighting!” Levy attempted to break the boys up but unfortunately, her right eye caught Jet’s fist and she was knocked back. Jet was totally unaware, blinded by anger, that he just socked the hell out of the girl he loved who happened to be his dear teammate. He continued to fight while Droy gave up, succumbing to a punch in the jaw from Jet. His eyes shot to Levy as Jet still had him in his grip.

“Lev…” Droy said as he fought out of Jet’s grip. He reached for her but she pushed his hand away as Levy grabbed Jet by his shirt and slapped him so hard, saliva shot out his mouth.

“Screw you!” she screamed holding her injured eye as she released his shirt. Shock covered Jet’s face when he realized that he had punched Levy, guilt flooding his body, extinguished his jealous-filled anger. “Screw you Jet! If I’ve wasted you and Droy’s time I’m sorry. If I can’t reciprocate your feelings, I’m sorry, but that doesn’t excuse you for being such an ass. Screw you, and screw team since I’ve done nothing but waste your time! I’m done with Shadow Gear!”

The blue-haired mage ran off, tears flying behind her. The words hurt worse than the stinging Levy’s had left on Jet’s cheek. He lost the strength to move, to think, and before he even knew it tears were streaming down his face. Droy put a hand on his shoulder.

“Damn it!” Jet cried. Droy’s eyes began to water as it donned on him that the girl he too had loved was gone.

“It’s all my fault,” Jet said unable to stop his emotions, “It’s all my fault.” Droy lightly patted his friend’s shoulder.

“Nah, it’s my fault too,” Droy said, “I think we were selfish, thinking that one day she might love one of us back.”

 

* * *

 

Levy ran as fast as she could, ignoring the stinging pain of her right eye. She covered it with her hand as if to prevent anyone passing by from seeing it. However, she wasn't able to pay much attention to what was in front of her and she was not able to see that there was a man walking right in front of her.

Unable to stop after realizing that there was someone in her path, Levy crashed into his chest, and knocked them both unto the ground. She felt him wrap his arms around her, and she caught a whiff of him. He smelled like iron, a smell she was very familiar with.

Gajeel, she thought to herself as they fell back. She did not feel any of the impact, thanks to Gajeel, but she couldn't find any strength to keep up. Being in someone's arms right now was the best thing for her, not to mention the guy she had some feelings for, warming her with his embrace. Depsite feeling embarrassed, she felt safe and clung back to him.

"What the hell, shrimp!" Gajeel yelled picking them both up. She held on tightly to his shirt and didn't let go until her feet touched the ground.

 

* * *

Gajeel saw Levy coming at the last second. She was running too fast for him to stop her before she crashed right into, sending him backward. Instinctively, he pulled her to his body with a tight embrace and he took the impact of the fall.

"What the hell, shrimp!" he yelled, more out of annoyance than anger, picking Levy up as he stood up. He set her feet gently on the ground. That was when he noticed. He stopped in his tracks and stared, she tried to cover her right eye, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled it away. She was developing a black eye, rage and fury rushed through his body.

"Who?" he demanded an answer. She said nothing as tears formed in her eyes. She turned her away to advert his gaze. He gently grabbed her face and turned it towards him.

"Levy," he said, "who did this to you? I'll kill that fucking bastard."

"No," she mumbled, her voice muffled by her sobbing. A sense of hurt washed over Gajeel's anger. He pushed her into his chest, she latched on. He knew that was the only thing he do right now. He didn't know what happened, why it happened or who made it happen, but the last thing he wanted was to press her before she was ready to tell him, if she was going to.

He noticed that people were beginning to stare at them, with Levy crying and all. He lifted her into his arms and carried her bridal style to his home.

With his sense heightened by his Dragon Slayer magic, he couldn't help but inhale her scent wholesomely. She smelled lovely, like lavender and books, a smell that Gajeel had grown accustomed to love. He felt his heartbeat speeding up and blushed slightly. It seemed like time paused as he carried her in his arms. He fought the instinct to kiss her forehead, or even worse, demand she tell him who the hell he had to pay a visit to.

Gajeel grew frustrated because he didn't know how she got hurt, who hurt her and most importantly he didn't know what to do. It did not help that she was cradled so helpless in his arms. She clung to his neck, crying and all he could do right now was hold her. He had no other plan, except to get some ice on her eye to slow down the bruising. He wished he could do more.

 

Finally, Gajeel thought to himself as he approached his home. He was able to find a small two-story house for a reasonable price that he could afford. It wasn't the best of places, but it did get the job done of being a cozy home.

He couldn't reach his house keys in his pants, so he kicked the door a couple of times. "Lily," he called, hoping that his cat was there.

It didn't take but a few seconds until the black Exceed opened the door. Pantherlily was shocked at the sight of Levy in Gajeel's arms, but more shocked to see the state Levy was in, injured and crying.

"Lily," he said, "get an ice pack and bring it to the guest room." With that he took Levy upstairs to his vacant guest room and tucked her into the clean bed.

He pulled a chair from the desk and turned it backwards. He sat down and scooted it as close to the bed as possible and waited for Lily to return with the ice pack.

 

* * *

 

Levy remained quiet soaking in the warmth of the bed. It was soft, and smelled like fresh sheets. She for the most part had stopped crying, thanks to Gajeel's noble gesture. It made her happy that he cared for her enough to do this, and it did indeed confirm that she had feelings for him, despite the fact she did not need confirmation.

She still didn't feel like talking, and she kind of felt bad for that since it seemed like Gajeel still was waiting for an explanation. Her throat was dry, and her eye wasn't doing much better. Maybe after the ice pack and a glass of water she'd be ready to talk.

Too soon were her wishes granted when she saw Lily come into the room with a glass of cold water and the ice pack. He floated onto the bed and offered her the tray.

She sat up and took the glass and downed it at a reasonable rate before she placed the ice pack on her eye. It made her wince quite a bit for a second, but then she was grateful the icy relief.

"You ready to talk, shrimp?" Gajeel asked her. She knew she wasn't ready quite yet, but he did deserve and answer.

"No," she said with a sad smile, "I'm sorry, but I'm not ready to talk just yet. Thank you, though, you know, for the hospitality. Just give me a second to compose myself." Gajeel nodded and they sat in silence.

 


	2. Comfort

Gajeel watched closely Levy cradled her knees into her chest. He fought the urge to hold her. He felt obliged to hold her, tell her it was going to be okay, but he wasn't too sure how she'd handle it.

"W-we got into an argument," she said clearly. Gajeel immediately knew whom Levy was referring to: her teammates, Jet and Droy. They were annoying as hell to Gajeel, but he couldn't blame them. He, himself probably wouldn't trust himself if he were in their shoes. However, they were still annoying shits and Gajeel was a bit jealous of them, being that they were so close to her, like he wished he could be.

"What did you argue about?" Gajeel asked leaning forward. He placed a hand on her shoulder gently, as if to coax her out of whatever she could be feeling. It was clear to him that this was a big deal to her, probably more so to her teammates.

"I-I would rather not say," she said with a frown. Gajeel nodded in approval. He could understand that, at least. He wanted more, though. It hurt him that she didn't want to tell him. He knew it was nothing personal, but it still hurt him. Levy looked like she wanted to say more, so he patiently waited.

"It ended when Jet said something very mean to me," she said. _Fuck him_ , Gajeel thought to himself. _He's a dick-head anyway._

"It hurt that he got so angry at me," she said, "It hurt a lot. I didn't know how to process it. I didn't know what to do, how to feel, so I cried. Droy tried to calm him down, but he pushed Droy, and you know how that goes." Gajeel processed every single word. He could kind of feel where this was going.

"I tried to stop them from fighting, but Jet was just so angry. He punched me by accident in the eye," she said, "I just got angry back with how mad he was and how he was fighting with Droy over our argument. So I slapped him really hard and ran away crying." A tear fell from her eye. Gajeel gently wiped it away.

"Here," he said reaching for the eye pack, "Lemme hold it for a bit." Levy obliged him. They sat there in silence. It wasn't awkward silence, but for Gajeel it was unbearable.

 

* * *

 

Levy's heart was beginning to race, but there was something funny about it. Funny about it all, her situation, that is. She started to giggle, and then to laugh gently until the feeling of puzzled stares became too great for her to ignore.

"What's so funny, shrimp?" Gajeel asked trying to keep the ice pack, steady. Levy gently grabbed his wrist and took the ice pack from him with her free hand and held it in place.

"I can do this, Gajeel," she said with a small smile, "But thank you for holding it for quite awhile." She looked at Gajeel who was turning a soft shade of red. She wondered why he was acting so shy and embarrassed. She somehow managed to forget that her hand was on his wrist, she let it go, turning a bit red herself. Gajeel quickly retracted his hand and shot up from the chair.

"I-I'm gonna go make some dinner," he said nervously storming out of the room. Pantherlily made a chuckle. Levy was startled by it and also forgot that the little black Exceed had been there the whole time. She looked at him with a smile and returned the favor. There could have been a moment of silence, but for some odd reason Levy couldn't let that happen.

"Lily," she said nervously attracting his attention, "Ya know, Gajeel isn't that bad of a guy. He's always been nice to me, kind of." She felt her self blush a bit when saying that. She looked at Pantherlily who gave a short nod.

"You're right, despite his scary demeanor, sour attitude, and rude mouth, he's alright," he said back with a chuckle.

"Yeah," she said with a giggle too.

"He cares for you," Lily said which evoked blush out of Levy. "You can always tell him how you feel. He'll listen. He's not one to openly share his own personal feelings, but he is an excellent listener, especially to those he cares about. I've noticed that about him recently."

"I know he'd listen," she said, "I know he's worrying right now, but I just feel so vulnerable all of a sudden. I trust him, I do. I know he won't share my secrets. I am just nervous, ya know." Lily nodded, showing that he understood what she was saying, "It's just I think Gajeel sees me for me, which I don't think too many people other than Lucy, do. Even being with Jet and Droy all these years, I feel like they didn't see me. They saw the girl that they romantically-loved and they always treated me like I was some precious, fragile cargo. Honestly, it was suffocating. I only thought of them as the best of friends, comrades, but they never saw me like that, or rather that's what I felt for all the years. I figure this was bound to happen." Pantherlily placed his paw on her thigh out of support.

"Even right now," Levy said, "I'd like for Gajeel to hear this, but I just don't want his view of me to change. I am certain it won't and I think it's ridiculous of me to think so, but that doesn't stop me from having these insecurities, even though I know Gajeel would accept them. I dunno, Lily, I really just don't know. Ever since we've become, I want to say friends, but I'm not sure that's what Gajeel defines us as, I feel like he's been extra careful around me, as well. I feel like ever since the bout with his former guild, Phantom Lord, he feels guilty about it."

"Former guild?" Lily asked giving her a curious look. "Phantom Lord?"

"Oh," Levy said realizing that Gajeel must not have mentioned it to Lily, "Well, Gajeel was originally a member of the former guild Phantom Lord. If I remember correctly, he had quite the reputation for being a bad-ass." Lily chuckled.

"Yeah," Levy said giggling as well, "Well, you see, I am not sure what all happened during the fight between the two. I was put out of commission before it all really started." Lily raised his eyebrow.

"Gajeel knocked Jet, Droy and me out one night. It happened so quick," Levy said, "I think it started after that, and somehow Phantom Lord brought Lucy into it. I am not really too clear on what happened. I just know what happened to me. I have eventually moved on from it."

"I see," Lily said.

"It's a lot to process," Levy said thinking about it all, "but, it's all good!" The ice-pack began to melt and become squishy. Levy removed it from her eye.

"Whew!" she said, "That was beginning to become uncomfortable. It needs to freeze again." Lily took the ice pack from her.

"What are you plans now?" Lily asked. Levy thought about it for several seconds.

"I think I'll be taking a couple of days off from working. I've already paid this month's rent for my dorm," Levy said with a smile. "I just don't want anyone to see me like this." Lily nodded and stroked his chin.

"How about staying here then?" Lily asked. Levy's eyes shot wide.

"Oh no," she said embarrassed, "I simply couldn't."

"You can," Lily insisted, "It's fine. We have this spare room, and you can stay away from the guild until you feel better and your eye is healed. I know Gajeel won't mind."

"Won't mind what?" Gajeel asked as he entered the room. Lily gave Gajeel a scolding look, Levy looked down.

"Um," Levy said beginning to blush, "Do you mind if I stay here a little while?"

 

* * *

 

 

The question made Gajeel a bit too happy. He was sure that it was something Lily cooked up, and he was a bit mad he didn't suggest it first, but nonetheless it made him happy. It made him feel like he could do something to help Levy get better.

"Sure," he said with one of his smirks, "Stay as long as you want. I can go fetch some of your things in the morning, if ya want." Levy gave him a big smile, it warmed his heart. He couldn't help but blush a little bit, but it was okay.

"That sounds great, Gajeel," she said, "I'd really appreciate it."

"Good," Gajeel said, "Let's go eat now. Dinner's ready."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! This semester of school is winding down with finals next week so I kind of want to at least work through and publish everything I've written so far. I'm trying my best. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think and inform me of any errors you find!


	3. A Team is Formed

Levy woke up pretty early, in an over-sized t-shirt, in an unfamiliar bed. She had to think The sun had not quite risen, so the room was very dark. She escaped from under the covers and quietly found her way to the light switch. She bumped into the desk a little bit, but it wasn't too bad. She flicked the light on.

On the desk, there were her clothes from yesterday, neatly folded. _That Gajeel_ , Levy thought to herself as she dressed herself. She exited the room quietly. She crept down the hallway quietly until she was able to descend down the stairs. _Hmm_ , she thought to herself, _maybe I should cook some breakfast._

Levy opened the refrigerator quietly and examined its contents. She settled on making an easy breakfast casserole out of ham, bacon, cheese and veggies. She cut all of the ingredients up into bite size pieces the best she could and put them into a large bowl. She cracked several eggs and whipped everything together along with cheese. She poured the mixture into a pan. She threw the pan into the oven on 425 degrees.

She raided the pantry for sugar, salt, flour, baking powder and retrieved milk and butter from the fridge. She added the ingredients and began mixing it into a dough. She melted the butter in a small bowl in the microwave. She covered a section of the counter with flour and began to knead the dough.

She kept kneading the dough until the over timer went off. She took the pan out of the oven and laid the dough evenly over its contents. She brushed the butter on the top of the dough and put the pan back in the over for 20 minutes.

"Whew!" she exhales and she busies herself cleaning up everything. She wipes the counters, rinses the dishes to prepare them for washing. She even takes the time to set up the table in a nice little set-up with a fresh flower in a vase she picked outside. She patiently waited on her dish to cook, unaware that someone had appeared behind her.

 

* * *

 

Gajeel's eyes opened to the just-risen sun peering through the window. He threw the covers off of him and got out of the bed and yawned. He threw on a tank top and some thin pants before his nose caught the scent of something delicious.

Quietly descending the stairs, Gajeel heard the happy humming of Levy, who was patiently waiting in front of the oven. He couldn't help but smirk happily at the sight. She was engrossed in cleaning, and watching whatever she had in the oven, she didn't notice the dragon slayer sneaking up on her and he was glad for it. He lunged at her and embraced her tightly.

She screamed cutely, erecting Gajeel's signature "Gi hee."

 

* * *

 

Gajeel scared the hell out of Levy. Her heart was beating really quickly. His iron scent clung into her nostrils and she realized just how ripped he was. She could feel his muscles through the shirt. "G-gajeel," she managed to muster.

"Hm," he replied still holding on to her.

"Um," she said nervously, "You're holding me."

"Oh!" Gajeel released her as they both blushed profusely, "M-my bad."

"Nah," Levy said laughing nervously, "It's o-okay!"

"So, shrimp," Gajeel said, "What'cha cookin'?"

"It's a little casserole dish, it's like an omelet almost. It should be done soon," Levy said.

"It smells delicious," Gajeel said.

"Thanks! I hope it tastes delicious, too," Levy said. The two sat in awkward silence as the oven continued to cook the food. The only noise came from a groggy Pantherlily assuming a place at the table.

"Good morning," he said with a yawn.

"Good morning, Lily!" Levy mused, Gajeel grunted.

"What's that lovely aroma?" the Exceed asked intrigued.

"I just threw a little something for breakfast!" Levy said with a smile, "Oh, look, it's done!" She opened the oven and carefully took the pan out. Using and oven mitt, she carried the dish to table and set it in the middle on top of a cloth. The biscuit top had cooked to perfection; Levy couldn't help but be proud of herself. She began serving helpings to everyone.

"I hope you guys like it!" She said, "What kind of beverage would you like Gajeel? I know Lily wants kiwi juice!"

"Coffee, black," Gajeel said taking in the scent of the food. Levy handed him a mug of black coffee and Lily a cup of kiwi juice. She herself poured a cup of kiwi juice.

"I hope you don't mind I stole some juice, Lily," she said.

"It's no problem at all!" he said with a smile. Levy returned it. They began to eat their food. Levy ate slowly, and watched as the other two devoured their first serving.

"Damn, Levy," Gajeel said, "This is amazing!" Lily gave a nod. Pride and relief flooded Levy's body.

"I'm so glad!" she said. It really did make her feel happy that they seemed to like it. Levy continued to work on her food while she watched Gajeel tear up serving after serving. Lyl seemed to be taking his time.

"I've never seen Gajeel so excited over breakfast," Lily said taking a dabbing his mouth exuding table manners.

"Lily! Shaddup!" Gajeel said glaring at his exceed partner with a slight blush, mid-bite.

"Oh really?" Levy said giggling a little.

"Whatcha' laughing at, Shrimp?" Gajeel said looking at Levy.

"Oh," Levy felt like she was caught, "Um, well, I just think you two are the cutest together. I wish I had cute, insanely strong teammates. Not saying that Droy and Jet aren't strong, they just are...you know..." Levy stopped talking. She didn't really want to badmouth her teammates, ex-teammates. She stopped talking and put her fork down and sighed. She still didn't really know exactly what she wanted to do about them yet.

"Well, uh," Gajeel nervously said, "I don't think you could necessarily call us two cute, Levy." Levy. _Levy_. Gajeel just called her by her name. It pulled her out of the funk from mentioning the sore topic and she couldn't help herself but perk up and show a brilliant smile. Gajeel was still blushing, probably even more now. Levy giggled a bit at it, it was obvious he wasn't used to saying her name, and oddly she had be accustomed to his nicknames.

"Levy," Lily said grabbing her attention, "You know." Lily paused. Levy wasn't used to Lily being so unsure of what he was going to say.

"I know what?" she said with a slight smile as if to coerce himself to finish his thought.

"Well," the exceed said, "I can only speak for myself, but I'd be happy if you formed a team with us, if that is okay with you, if and only if you weren't sure that you'd want to remain on Team Shadow Gear." Levy's eyes opened wide and Gajeel coughed.

 

 

_A team w-with Levy?_ Gajeel thought to himself. _It wouldn't be so bad, it can't be bad. I mean she would be an asset to us, since he's really smart and all. I mean, she isn't the most athletic female in the guild, and maybe not the strongest, but she isn't too bad in combat, plus she would have me and Lily to support her. Yeah, this could work! Good job, Lily._

"Gehee," Gajeel said, "I think it's a great idea, too, shrimp!"

"Really?" Levy asked, "You guys really wouldn't mind?"

"No!" Gajeel wanted to say it a million more times, "You'd actually be a great addition to our team, shrimp. We could use your smarts!"

"I concur," Lily said with a nod.

"Okay, I accept!" Levy said. Gajeel wanted to hug her, kiss her, but all he could do was smile and be really happy she said yes.

"Gehee," Gajeel said, "Don't worry yourself about it too much, you got two strong teammates here who can whoop ass."

"Don't count me out too quickly, Gajeel," Levy said, "I've actually been training really hard. I'm twice as strong now, so I think I can help whoop ass, too."

"Glad to hear it," Gajeel said, "But you're gonna have to train harder if you wanna catch up to us."

"Okay!" Levy said enthusiastically. It made Gajeel probably a bit too proud, but more importantly, it made him fall a bit harder.

"Levy," Lily said, "You know, it would make things easier for you if you stayed here." Gajeel coughed out of shock at that. He glanced at Levy who was even more shocked.

"Y-you mean, move in?" Levy said turning red.

"Yeah," Lily said. Gajeel was peeved at Lily for pushing that notion, obviously it would be a problem if she moved in with two guys.

 

 

_Move in_ , Levy thought, _Move in w-with Gajeel? No, I couldn't possibly do that! I mean, it would be awkward, right?_ Levy contemplated in her head to cool herself down. She was obviously getting a bit too excited with the idea. _Would it be okay if I accepted on my own selfish reason? I mean, this could be an opportunity, Levy. You've wanted to make a move on Gajeel for some time, and living with him would obviously be a good move._ Levy couldn't think about it too much more before her mouth move on its own.

"Sure," she said, "I mean I could move in. I paid the rent for this month and it's almost time to pay again, meaning if I were to move out, I'd be in the clear. The only problem is, my books. I have SOOOO many books. My furniture isn't a problem, but I have so many books!"

"That shouldn't be a problem, Levy," Lily said, "I'm sure we could work something out. We have a lot of room for some bookshelves here. I'm sure we can find a place for them if we run out of room!"

"You think so?" Levy asked.

"Yeah, what do you think Gajeel," Lily said discreetly nudging the dragon slayer.

 

 

The fuck, Gajeel thought to himself, she said yes? He had kept up with the conversation, but he had been entertaining his own thoughts. He was quickly jolted into reality when Lily nudged him.

"Oh," he said, "Yeah, we'll figure somethin' out for ya, shrimp. Don't worry about rent or nothin'."

"Great! Thank you, two!" Levy said, "In the meantime, teammates, I'll cook and clean in place of rent!"

"You really don't hafta," Gajeel said, "I do everything anyway."

"Gajeel, we should except her offer, she cooks ten times better than you," Lily said.

"Shaddup!" Gajeel said embarrassed. Levy burst out laughing. Gajeel blushed, coughing trying to hide his embarrassment.

"I can't wait to start working with you two, you're so funny together," Levy said with a big smile, the one Gajeel fell in love with.

"Yeah yeah," he said embarrassed, blushing. Lily was at a loss for words as well.

"So," Levy said, "Do you happen to have an eye patch and sunglasses, Gajeel?"

"Yeah why?" he said looking at her.

"Well," she said timidly, "You offered to go fetch me some things, but I wanna go and pack them myself and I don't want anyone to see me or this." Levy pointed to her eye. "I want to use a disguise until I get to Fairy Hills."

"Not a problem," Gajeel said getting up from the table. He fetched a medical eye patch, some sunglasses, a beanie and a jacket Levy could use to conceal herself. He brought them back to the kitchen where he watched Levy and Lily clean up.

 "Here ya go, Shrimp," he said handing her the items. Levy finished cleaning and put on the items. She obviously looked silly, wearing an eye patch, sunglasses, a beanie with her blue jocks stuffed inside of it and a too big jacket that hung over her knees, but you really couldn't tell who she was, unless you really really knew her.

"I'm ready!" she said. The three of them left for Fairy Hills.


	4. Moving In

Levy carefully trailed Gajeel and Lily to the girls' dormitory, Fairy Hills. Her disguise was an okay one, it'd keep her from maybe being noticed but as long as they couldn't see her eye, she'd be fine. It was still horribly ugly, despite being a thousand times better already thanks to Gajeel's routine care for it.

The walk itself wasn't too awkward, nor unbearable as Gajeel and Lily chatted each other up, occasionally including Levy in. She didn't mind it at all, it helped her ease her nerves. Soon enough, the trio found themselves standing in front of the door to Fairy Hills.

"Do you want us to come up?" Gajeel asked.

"W-well, y-yeah, if that's fine," Levy said removing the beanie from her head and opening the door ushering the other two behind her. No one seemed to be in the lobby, so Levy rushed Gajeel and Lily to her room quietly, not to disturb anyone else. She couldn't decide which would be more embarrassing, someone wondering why she had Gajeel and Pantherlily following her to her room or having to show someone the disgusting black eye she had.

Luckily, she was able to make it her room before anyone spotted them. She welcomed the two into her room, blushing at their wide eyes once they took in the state her room was in.

"Damn, shrimp," Gajeel said, "That's a lot of books!"

"Indeed it is," Lily said flying around, "I have to say Levy, I think you can only fit one or two of these bookshelves in Gajeel's home."

"I figured!" the mage said fetching a large suitcase, "I was planning on renting a storage room and storing most of them anyway. There's actually a lot of storage rooms near Gajeel's house that go for pretty cheap."

"That's good," Lily said.

"Yeah," Levy said, "The only bad thing is packing all of these away. It's going to take a while!"

"You wanna get started then?" Gajeel asked, "We don't have anything planned, we could help you at least start maybe boxing some."

"That would be great!" Levy said, "I have a ton of boxes hidden around, it'd be great to start with that." Levy fetched a couple of boxes. "Here, you guys if you would, just start boxing the books. My favorites are scattered on the floor, so I don't mind the ones of the shelves not being organized."

"Sure thing," Gajeel said. He busied himself with cleaning the shelves several books at a time and boxing them neatly, trying to maximize the number of books in each box. Lily did the same, turning into his battle form to speed up the process. Levy worked on packing up her favorite books, which she planned on taking to Gajeel's house as well as packing necessities, like clothes and toiletries.

 

* * *

 

Several hours passed and they made a huge dent in clearing the clutter of books in Levy's room. A few of the bookcases were completely clear of books, while others were missing large numbers of them. The boxes were stacked neatly out of the way.

"This is the first time in a long time I've seen this room so clean!" Levy said wiping her forehead with a little bit of embarrassment. "I can't believe that I really don't have that much furniture and most of my clothes and possessions fit in my suitcase! I guess I'm a hardcore bookworm."

"Yeah, you totally are a hardcore, nerdy bookworm," Gajeel jokingly said hauling the last of the boxes of books into one of their many stacks. Levy stuck her tongue out in response.

"In other words, I think that's it, Gajeel and Lily," she said with a smile, "We can easily haul this back to your house." She pointed at her full suitcase and one box of books.

"Okay," Gajeel said picking up the box in one arm and grabbing the suitcase.

"You sure you can handle all of that?" Levy asked admiring the muscles at work in Gajeel's arms.

"Yeah," Gajeel said, "This is nothing."

"Okay," Levy said, "Well, let's go."

 

* * *

 

The walk back to Gajeel's house was a quiet one, unlike the walk to Fairy Hills. Gajeel was in his own world, carrying the books and Levy's suitcase like it was nothing. Levy had not once took her eyes off of Gajeel's back, broad shoulders and strong arms. She felt herself blush a little bit as her mind ran wild with steamy scenarios. She couldn't blame herself, Gajeel was sexy as hell.

"Yo, shrimp," he called out to her. His voice took her out of her thoughts, "Ya hungry?"

"O-oh, um," Levy said startled, "Yeah, I guess I am!"

"Whatcha want to eat then?" he asked her.

"Um," she said, "Would you mind if I cooked something?" Gajeel turned around with surprised look.

"Ya sure," he said.

"Yeah," Levy said smiling a little bit. Gajeel turned around blushing.

"That's fine," he said.

"Okay!" Levy said happily, "Gajeel could you take that stuff home then? I need to grab a few things, Lily come with me."

"With pleasure," the exceed said floating after Levy. Gajeel scoffed and headed home.

 

 

"What do you plan to make Levy?" Lily asked Levy as she was eyeing vegetables.

"I'm thinking of making some stew, with beef, chicken and some vegetables," she said, "Maybe over a little rice."

"That sounds delicious," Lily said.

"It does, doesn't it?" Levy said.

"Gajeel never makes anything like that," he said.

"Oh," Levy said picking potatoes, carrots, zucchini and squash. "I did offer to cook, so let's focus on that, Lily."

"As you wish," he replied. The two continued to shop in the market for things Levy needed. They checked out, and left to head for their home.

"So, Lily," Levy said blushing.

"Yes, Levy?" he said looking at her curiously.

"Does Gajeel have a girlfriend?" she asked nervously. The question made Pantherlily eyes widen a little bit, but overall he fashion a soft smirk on his face.

"He's not been with a lot of women from what I gather," he said.

"Oh," Levy said sadly.

"Why do you ask?" he asked curiously, but already knowing the answer.

"Okay," she said exhaling, "What would you say, if I had feelings for Gajeel?" She put it all out on the line. Lily smirked happily.

"I'd say that there's a huge chance that he would return your feelings ten-fold," the exceed said. The thought made Levy blush.

"Really?" she asked, "He likes me back?"

"I'd say more than just like," Lily said, "He's smitten."

_Smitten?!_ Levy thought to herself, _He's smitten with me?_

"Lily," Levy said, "Don't play with me! Are you sure?"

"Would I have any reason to lie to you about it, Levy?" the exceed asked.

"I guess you do have a point," she said eyeing Lily.

"What's that look for?" Lily asked.

"Well, I'm wondering," Levy said, "If I were to tell him I liked him, what would he do?"

"I'm not sure," the exceed said, "Do you plan on telling him, then?" Levy's faced immediately turned red.

"N-no!" Levy said, "Um, well at least not now."

"Take your time then," Lily said, "Don't rush it." He gave her a thumbs up. She smiled in response.

"Okay," Levy said, "Let's go make dinner."

 

* * *

 

Gajeel waited at home impatiently for Levy and Lily. _What's takin' them so damn long? I'm hungry_ , he thought to himself angrily pacing back and forth in front of the door. Soon, he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Gajeel," Levy voice called out to him, "We're home." Gajeel blushed at the word. Home. Levy's new home, with him.

"Gajeel!" Lily yelled, "Open the door!" That snapped him out of his feelings.

"Comin'" the dragon slayer said, opening the door. Levy gave him a smile, in which he responded with a nervous cough and blush.

"Well," Levy said, "I'm going to start dinner. Lily do you mind setting the table?"

"No problem at all, Levy," the exceed said following her into the kitchen.

"What about me?" Gajeel asked a bit jealous. Lily gave him a sneaky grin, which ticked him off even more.

"I just want you to relax," Levy said, "You did have to carry my things the whole time. Just relax and let me focus on making us a nice meal, otherwise, I won't be focused on cooking if you were in the kitchen."

"Yes ma'am," Gajeel pouted. He sat alone in silence in his living room as he continuously heard laughter coming from the kitchen where Levy and Lily seemed to be having a great time.

Two hours had passed, Gajeel had dozed off.

"Gajeel," a voice called out to him as he felt a hand on his head, "Gajeel!" His eyes shot open, full of the view of Levy's face peering over him. She was entirely too close, his nose was full of her scent. He could see the softness of her lips and feel the softness of her hands as she played in his thick mane of hair. He turned red as hell and jumped up, startling Levy who was confused.

"I'm sorry," Levy said thinking he had did something wrong.

"Oh no, shrimp!" Gajeel said nervously, "It's just you scared me. Is dinner ready?" His heart was racing a bit and his mind was running wild of slightly impure thoughts.

"Yes it is! Lily already started eating, so come on," Levy sashayed to the kitchen and Gajeel followed her. Upon entering the kitchen, a savory aroma filled his nostrils, it helped him to focus off of Levy.

"Something smells fucking delicious, shrimp," Gajeel said taking a seat at the table as Levy served him a generous helping of rice and stew.

"Your vulgarity is cute," Levy teased, evoking a blush from the iron dragonslayer, "but, yes, something is 'fucking' delicious. I made you guys some 'fucking' delicious stew." Lily was surprised that Levy was using such language, even though he was aware she was poking fun at his rash, rude partner. Gajeel found it refreshing a tad bit sexy.

"Didn't know ya had it in ya to cuss like that, shrimp," Gajeel teased taking a large bite of his stew. The flavor was good, really good but there was something there that made it taste better, special, unlike anything he had at the guild. "Where did ya learn to cook, Levy?"

He looked at her, to see her blushing a bit and Lily smirking at him. _Did I say something weird?_ he thought to himself, unaware that he did not use one of his usual nicknames in referring to Levy.

"W-well, um," Levy said, "Books."

"Books?" Gajeel asked.

"Yes, books," Levy said, "Not only cook books, but culinary books. Books about food and their unique flavors. I studied the characteristics of a lot of the common ingredients you find in the supermarkets and combining that with existing recipes I've tried, I kind of do my own little thing."

"Well, you do damn good job," Gajeel said wolfing down another large bit of food, "This is fucking amazing."

"Slow down, Gajeel," Lily warned, "Eating like a dog is unattractive to women these days. I've never seen" Gajeel coughed, Levy giggled.

"I don't think that's necessarily true, Lily," Levy said, "It's refreshing to see him so happy and eager to eat something I've made. There is that saying: 'A happy and full stomach makes for a happy and full heart."

"Where did you get that crap?" Gajeel asked.

"A book," Levy said gleefully, "I see you all of us are almost done with our first helping, would you two like some more?"

"Yes," the two said in unison. Levy giggled happily to herself and continued serving the stew until it was all gone and they were full and happy and ready to go to bed.


	5. Chapter 5: Morning Routines

Levy rolled out of the bed with the sun peeping through the window as it rested on the horizon. It's been a few days and her eye is completely healed. _I'm up a lot earlier than I usually wake up,_ she thought to herself as she stretched, _I guess it'd be the perfect opportunity for a nice hot bath._ She pulled off her covers and slipped out of bed. She looked at herself in the mirror as she put up her hair in a messy bun to somewhat hide her bedhead. She slipped on her slippers and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Gajeel stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel and began to dry his black mane before attempting to dry anything else. He works slowly, making sure every strand is dry and straight, just like he likes it. However, what he does not notice is that he left the door to the bathroom wide open and that a certain female mage is now entering the bathroom.

* * *

Levy eyes opened wide  Gajeel's wet muscles, wet abs, and seemingly large, semi-erect member dangling lazily. It only takes her a few seconds to permanently etch Gajeel's naked body into her brain and then she flips her shit. A shriek emits from her mouth, drawing the attention of the iron dragon slayer. She slaps her hands over her eyes.

* * *

Gajeel stared at Levy in shock. She turned red, screamed and is now covering her eyes. He's baffled until he realizes a second later that he's butt ass naked and that Levy has seen every inch of his body. He blushes profusely and clumsily attempts to wrap the towel around his waist.

"Shit, Shrimp. Fuck, I'm sorry," he said as he struggled to get the towel in place.

"Oh no," Levy said, "It's fine. Just cover up. I should have probably noticed that the lights had been on."

"Well, I did leave the damn door open. I'm somewhat covered," Gajeel said continuing his morning routine. Levy stood up and opened her eyes. "I guess before you moved in, I didn't really need to worry about the door since Lily doesn't usually come in here." Gajeel took out his toothbrush and began to brush his teeth.

"Yeah," Levy said nervously as she walked past Gajeel to the shower. Gajeel attempted to take a peek at Levy who disappointingly got into the shower to disrobe.

"What'cha doin' up so early anyway, Shrimp?" Gajeel asked as he ferociously brushed his teeth.

_FUCK, FUCK, FUCK,_ Gajeel thought to himself during their exchange. _She's seen me fucking naked. I mean, is she attracted to me? Was she disgusted? What fuck, Gajeel!_

"I'm not really sure," Levy said as she turned the shower water on, "I just woke up and decided to take a shower." Gajeel struggled with himself. Levy was only a few feet away from him. Naked, in the shower.

_Fuck ya thinkin' about? Hurry the fuck up and get out before you do something stupid,_ he told himself.

"Gajeel," Levy said from the shower.

"Yeah," Gajeel replied.

"Hand me my shower caddy," Levy said, "I forgot to grab it."

"Where is it?" Gajeel asked her.

"It's in front of the shower," she said, "And don't you dare take a peek."

"Gah!" Gajeel hissed, "Fine." Gajeel walked over to the shower and picked up the plastic caddy filled with bath products. He reached it over the shower. "Here ya go, Shrimp."

"Thanks," Levy said taking the caddy from Gajeel's hand.

"Now get out so I can finish. I'll start on breakfast after I'm done!" Levy demanded.

"Fine, fine!" Gajeel said walking out of the bathroom.

* * *

_Whew,_ Levy said to herself, _If I stared any longer, there would have been a problem._ Levy began washing herself as if to wash her thoughts of Gajeel from her mind. _It's gotta be illegal to look that good. I'm hopeless._

* * *

 "Sounds like you guys had an interesting morning," Pantherlily joked as the two sat the dinner table.

"Shaddup!" Gajeel said blushing.

"Now you know that you need to exercise manners now that there is a lady in the house," Lily said, "I forgot you don't have any."

"Damnit! Shaddup, Lily!!" Gajeel yelled turning even more red. Lily chuckled. Both of them were silenced by Levy, as she entered the kitchen.

"Good morning, Levy," Lily said.

"Good morning, Lily!" Levy said happily, "I'm making fruit pancakes. How many would you each like what kind of fruit would you like in them?"

"Gimme 6 blueberry pancakes, Shrimp," Gajeel said.

"I'd love 6 kiwi pancakes, Levy," Lily said.

"A blueberry-kiwi pancake would be delicious, but I planned on making eggs and bacon as well," Levy said, "but I guess not since you guys want so many!"

"Who says you can't have 6 pancakes, bacon and eggs?" Gajeel said.

"I did, unless you wanna help me cook," Levy said huffing.

"Just should'a asked, Shrimp," Gajeel said getting up, "You too, Lily."

"Affirmative," the black exceed said hovering over to the two.

Levy busied them all with tasks in preparation for cooking the breakfast. She diced the fruit. Lily, with meticulous instructions from Levy, carefully measured the ingredients for 12 pancakes. Gajeel cracked eggs to scramble and sliced bacon. Levy carefully stirred the diced blueberries and kiwis into the batter in order to evenly mix them throughout the batter.

"Gajeel, do you have an lacrima-powered skillet?" Levy asked him.

"I dunno, maybe, lemme look. Why can't you use a regular skillet?" Gajeel said as he began looking for the skillet Levy requested.

"Because a certain dragon slayer-exceed duo want 6 pancakes a piece and it'd take ages to them with a regular skillet. I can at least get three pancakes done at the same time with the lacrima-powered skillet," Levy huffed, "Plus you two need to use the regular skillets to cook our eggs and bacon!"

"Fine, fine," Gajeel said as he pulled out the skillet Levy wanted, "Here, shrimp."

"Okay good!" Levy said relieved, "You two cook the bacon and eggs and I'll work on the pancakes."

"How do you like your eggs?" Gajeel asked.

"Scrambled," Levy said.

"Gihee," Gajeel cooed, "You've got good tastes. Scrambled eggs are the best."

"I know," Levy said giggling back. Gajeel watched Levy, every now and again, beautifully cook the pancakes in threes. She carefully spooned the perfect amount of batter onto the hot pan. She made sure the pancakes were cooked in a perfect circular shape and were pretty big.

"You're damn good with pancakes, Shrimp," he said amazed.

"Thanks," Levy said smiling back at him. Gajeel coughed slightly and blushed. He adverted his attention back to the eggs and bacon. Lily was giving him a mischievous smirk. Levy giggled.

 

With breakfast finally done, the trio sat at the table and dug in. Levy's plate looked a lot more normal, with a stack of three pancakes, a decent portion of bacon and average portion of eggs. Lily's a little more than hers with six pancakes and smaller portions of the bacon and eggs that she had. Gajeel, however, had six pancakes and a much larger portion of bacon and eggs.

"What do ya want to do today?" Gajeel asked Levy.

"Well, my eyes is all better, so," Levy said, "Let's go to the guild. It'd be nice to see everyone. I know I've worried Lu-chan. Just kinda up and moved out of Fairy Hills out of the blue."

"If that's what ya want," Gajeel said, "Maybe we could pick up a job as well."

"That'd be great!" Levy said excitedly.

"Hurry up and eat and then get ready," Gajeel said.

"Same to you," Levy said sticking her tongue out.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, this is my first attempt of a fanfic, ever. I am really excited about trying it and testing the waters. This could be/should be considered an AU because it does not flow at all with the chronology of the actual anime/manga.
> 
> Also note, Fairy Tail is one of my favorite anime/mangas ever and I really love all of the different characters and I'd love to write about them.
> 
> As you read along, you may notice that I might hint towards other couples, I plan on writing about them soon enough, maybe. Please enjoy!
> 
> Please let me know what you think and if you notice any grammatical errors!
> 
> I do not own any of the characters, nor do I own Fairy Tail.


End file.
